One of the common problems that people face when using a 64-bit Windows is loading unsigned drivers. This is by design to provide a more restrictive environment to protect Windows from easily being infected by rootkits, a type of malware that uses a driver for low level hooking. It is also very difficult for software that belongs to a high risk category to obtain a digital certificate and one example is the Elite Keylogger where it took them years to get their driver signed.

If your operating system is 32-bit, you must download 32-bit files, because 64-bit programs are unable to run in the 32-bit operating system. There is a special case that, the operating system is a 64-bit system, but you are not sure whether the program is 32-bit or 64-bit. I am using Microsoft's usbser.sys driver to communicate with custom hardware using a serial interface emulation via USB. Since Win 8.1 I have to sign the driver. I the process, I used this comman.

This becomes a problem when using some legitimate software and you’re unable to load an older program such as PeerGuardian with the error message “Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file” because of an unsigned driver. We know that PeerGuardian has been superseded by a program called PeerBlock which doesn’t have these issues, but it’s just being used as an example to demonstrate the problem.

It appears the obtaining a certificate to perform driver signing costs hundreds of dollars per year and not every software developer can afford that kind of money especially when their software is freeware or open source. Fortunately, there are ways to force the unsigned drivers to load in 64-bit (x64) versions of Windows 7, 8 and Vista.

There are some tutorials suggesting that typing this command:

bcdedit /set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

into command prompt will do the job, but it doesn’t work on Windows 7 x64. It is believed this command was rendered useless with the release of Vista x64 SP1 and definitely doesn’t work on Windows 7 or 8. There was also a number of separate security patches on Vista which caused the command to not work. The Windows boot manager editor EasyBCD has an option which uses a command equivalent to DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS, but as this is no longer useful, we would recommend you ignore this option in EasyBCD.

There are still a few working ways to load unsigned drivers though…

Option 1

This first method is to continuously press F8 when Windows is booting up until you get the Advanced Boot Options menu, then select “Disable Driver Signature Enforcement”.

The problem about this method is you have to do that every time you boot up Windows and if you forget to select this option, you won’t get to load the unsigned drivers and the software that needs the driver won’t work.

Option 2

This method is to use ReadyDriver Plus, an enhanced version of the original ReadyDriver program. It does the same thing as the first method by selecting the Disable Driver Signature Enforcement option in Advanced Boot Options, but does it automatically as if you are doing it yourself.

There are modifications made to the Vista/7 Bootloader to load ReadyDriverPlus and you don’t have to touch the keys during boot. ReadyDriverPlus launches itself from the menu and then makes the appropriate selection to disable Driver Enforcement, based on what you choose to install. This tool works great on Windows 7 x64.

Next we’ll show you how to load Windows in Test Mode allowing for unsigned drivers to be enabled.

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Very good article. Thanks for sharing it.

Regarding Option 3, how can I identify the driver file? I’m trying to sign an Intel video driver and when I open up the driver details in Device Manager, there are a bunch of different files, but there’s one C:WindowsSystem32DRIVERSigdkmd64.sys. Is that the file? (System is Windows 7 Professional x64)

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Thanks Raymond, Method 1 worked and has ended hours of pain. Thank God for you and the many helpful people out there on the internet.

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This is one thing I hate about Windows. They force you to reboot the computer for something as trivial as this. Now I have to wait 20 mins for my PC to boot. :/

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wow, thats insane time!
Im 100% sure that you can optimize this load time.
my windows 7 boots in 8-9 seconds from the end of POST to seeing desktop

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Thank you so much. I spent hours searching for Coby Netbook drivers from 2010. Coby has no official website and the Network drivers available are only from third party websites. After Disabling Driver Enforcement I was finally capable of installing the network driver. All seems to be running fine. :)

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DSEO worked fine for me today on 64-bit Windows 7 getting drivers for my old pentium 4 system. I still got warnings but not the refusal or failure to display the drivers. Thanks! It was the first time I have tried 64-bit and the signature enforcement thing came as a bit of a shock!
(As did the 400 updates my old win 7 DVD install required!)

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Check if you have BitLocker enabled by your IT group. If so, the bcdedit will lock you out of your machine until you type in the Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption Recovery Key.

I’m currently in that situation. Just trying to load a driver for a board I designed several years ago, they upgrade our machines and now I can’t do my job. Shoulda kept my XP machine. :)

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Hello, this would had been a solution to install unsigned audio and Ethernet drivers on a laptop (dell latitude d600) if my system weren’t a windows 7 ultimate 32bit. Please tell me if this solution can be apply in this case. Thank you in advance for any advice you can give.
Filbieri

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First of all thanks raymond for showing me a bunch of methods i was unaware of.
For those who will need to do this on a regular basis or are simply too lazy :D ive just made 6th option: a simple batch file which will “automate” the process somewhat.
* make a new text document by clicking your desktop > New > Text Document
* Press enter twice
* Now that the document is opened in notepad copy paste the text at the bottom of this post in it (you could remove the line called “pause” if you dont want a confirmation, then the program will do what you’ve asked and automatically close itself.
* Save your document and call it anything you like.
* Change the file extension from .txt to .bat (note: if you cant change or see the file extension this means that “Hide extension for known file types” is checked under Folder Options).
* Its ready to use! (Run with Admin privilege, not sure whetever it is necessary to turn UAC (User Account Control) off first. Correct me if im wrong here!

!!Note!!
Dont forget changes are active after rebooting windows and more importantly!!! Like JSSmith said when you are done doing whatever it is you need change the setting back to default because theres a good reason for windows not allowing unsigned drivers!!! Better be safe then sorry right :)

@echo off
echo 1=Allow the installation of unsigned drivers
echo 2=Block the installation of unsigned drivers (windows 7 Default)
echo X=Exit
choice /C:12X

if errorlevel 3 goto End
if errorlevel 2 goto Block
if errorlevel 1 goto Allow

:Allow
bcdedit /set nointegritychecks OFF
Echo Installation of unsigned drivers is now ALLOWED!
goto end

:Block
bcdedit /set nointegritychecks ON
Echo Installation of unsigned drivers is now BLOCKED!

:end
pause
cls

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Forgot to mention that this works on Windows 7 x64.

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To run this procedure I must disable “secure boot” in the UEFI at start up of the PC desktop in Windows8. Can this be done without any harm??
Thanks?
Chris

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Windows X64 Driver Rtkvac64 Sys Not Found Windows 7

I’m sorry but I have to insert in the text file from:
——
@echo off
echo 1=Allow….

to

…pause
cls
——

and I did not understand the difference between keeping or delete the line called “pause”:
the program runs as ReadyDriver Plus during boot?

I would like to try your solution but I do not understand what are the differences with ReadyDriver Plus, I’m sorry.

thanks a lot

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Observation – Please… so Microsoft’s Intentions – to protect us from countless risks, locks us down so tightly, that for those of us with needs for (1) or at most a few “unsigned drivers”, forces us to unprotect our whole system (100%) 24/7, in order to maintain certain functionality… KaVoom’s KVM utility requires “Enforcement” turned OFF at every bootup cycle.

Thanks Microsoft (Idiots)… rather than providing for a case-by-case exception (providing 99+% Protection), they push us into an “all or nothing” solution. My first 20 years in technology I loved and believed in Microsoft – My last 10 years, I have grown to despise them and dozens of their product and business decisions… May their market share go to hell.

Is there no solution that handles “unsigned drivers” on a case-by-case basis ???

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Actually the first option where you enter “bcdedit /set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS” into the command prompt works on windows 8. Worked for me anyway. Just make sure your running it as administrator

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F8 trick worked! Thanks buddy

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The number of times this blog’s solved something for me…

I’ve had to get a Netcomm AM5066 (Rave III) USB dialup modem working on a customer’s laptop running Windows 7 64bit. Netcomm have 64bit drivers for XP, 32bit for Vista and list nothing at all for W7. I’ve managed to get the XP64 drivers working in W7 by disabling driver signing.

I tried the NGOHQ program first, and that seemed to work okay. 2 weeks later my customer brought it back, and it’d stopped working; I couldn’t get it to accept the drivers again. Not sure what happened.

Then luckily found this post. I strongly recommend ReadyDriver Plus over DSEO; it’s a far simpler solution and a lot easier to set up and leave. It pretends to be a human pressing the buttons to get to the F8 boot menu and then pick the “disable driver signing” option.

Works for me!

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I use ReadyDriver Plus and it works fine for me! Thanks

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Great find Raymond..As a person who deals with all flavors of OS in the market, I know what a pain it is to get drivers installed in 64 bit versions. Hats off to you..

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Very nice tutorial, this is why I love your blog.

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I’ve been using DSEO without many problems.

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Thanks for the tutorial.

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For certain Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, such as devices that are accessed by only a single application, you can install WinUSB (Winusb.sys) in the device's kernel-mode stack as the USB device's function driver instead of implementing a driver.

This topic contains these sections:

Automatic installation of WinUSB without an INF file

As an OEM or independent hardware vendor (IHV), you can build your device so that the Winusb.sys gets installed automatically on Windows 8 and later versions of the operating system. Such a device is called a WinUSB device and does not require you to write a custom INF file that references in-box Winusb.inf.

When you connect a WinUSB device, the system reads device information and loads Winusb.sys automatically.

For more information, see WinUSB Device.

Installing WinUSB by specifying the system-provided device class

When you connect your device, you might notice that Windows loads Winusb.sys automatically (if the IHV has defined the device as a WinUSB Device). Otherwise follow these instructions to load the driver:

1. Plug in your device to the host system.
2. Open Device Manager and locate the device.
3. Select and hold (or right-click) the device and select Update driver software... from the context menu.
4. In the wizard, select Browse my computer for driver software.
5. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
6. From the list of device classes, select Universal Serial Bus devices.
7. The wizard displays WinUsb Device. Select it to load the driver.

If Universal Serial Bus devices does not appear in the list of device classes, then you need to install the driver by using a custom INF.The preceding procedure does not add a device interface GUID for an app (UWP app or Windows desktop app) to access the device. You must add the GUID manually by following this procedure.

1. Load the driver as described in the preceding procedure.

2. Generate a device interface GUID for your device, by using a tool such as guidgen.exe.

3. Find the registry key for the device under this key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetEnumUSB<VID_vvvv&PID_pppp>

4. Under the Device Parameters key, add a String registry entry named DeviceInterfaceGUID or a Multi-String entry named DeviceInterfaceGUIDs. Set the value to the GUID you generated in step 2.

5. Disconnect the device from the system and reconnect it to the same physical port.Note If you change the physical port then you must repeat steps 1 through 4.

Writing a custom INF for WinUSB installation

As part of the driver package, you provide an .inf file that installs Winusb.sys as the function driver for the USB device.

The following example .inf file shows WinUSB installation for most USB devices with some modifications, such as changing USB_Install in section names to an appropriate DDInstall value. You should also change the version, manufacturer, and model sections as necessary. For example, provide an appropriate manufacture's name, the name of your signed catalog file, the correct device class, and the vendor identifier (VID) and product identifier (PID) for the device.

Also notice that the setup class is set to 'USBDevice'. Vendors can use the 'USBDevice' setup class for devices that do not belong to another class and are not USB host controllers or hubs.

If you are installing WinUSB as the function driver for one of the functions in a USB composite device, you must provide the hardware ID that is associated with the function, in the INF. You can obtain the hardware ID for the function from the properties of the devnode in Device Manager. The hardware ID string format is 'USBVID_vvvv&PID_pppp'.

The following INF installs WinUSB as the OSR USB FX2 board's function driver on a x64-based system.

Windows X64 Driver Rtkvac64 Sys Not Found Windows 7

Starting in Windows 10, version 1709, the Windows Driver Kit provides InfVerif.exe that you can use to test a driver INF file to make sure there are no syntax issues and the INF file is universal. We recommened that you provide a universal INF. For more information, see Using a Universal INF File.

Only include a ClassInstall32 section in a device INF file to install a new custom device setup class. INF files for devices in an installed class, whether a system-supplied device setup class or a custom class, must not include a ClassInstall32 section.

Except for device-specific values and several issues that are noted in the following list, you can use these sections and directives to install WinUSB for any USB device. These list items describe the Includes and Directives in the preceding .inf file.

Windows X64 Driver Rtkvac64.sys Not Found

• USB_Install: The Include and Needs directives in the USB_Install section are required for installing WinUSB. You should not modify these directives.

• USB_Install.Services: The Include directive in the USB_Install.Services section includes the system-supplied .inf for WinUSB (WinUSB.inf). This .inf file is installed by the WinUSB co-installer if it isn't already on the target system. The Needs directive specifies the section within WinUSB.inf that contains information required to install Winusb.sys as the device's function driver. You should not modify these directives.Note Because Windows XP doesn't provide WinUSB.inf, the file must either be copied to Windows XP systems by the co-installer, or you should provide a separate decorated section for Windows XP.

• USB_Install.HW: This section is the key in the .inf file. It specifies the device interface globally unique identifier (GUID) for your device. The AddReg directive sets the specified interface GUID in a standard registry value. When Winusb.sys is loaded as the device's function driver, it reads the registry value DeviceInterfaceGUIDs key and uses the specified GUID to represent the device interface. You should replace the GUID in this example with one that you create specifically for your device. If the protocols for the device change, create a new device interface GUID.

  Note User-mode software must call SetupDiGetClassDevs to enumerate the registered device interfaces that are associated with one of the device interface classes specified under the DeviceInterfaceGUIDs key. SetupDiGetClassDevs returns the device handle for the device that the user-mode software must then pass to the WinUsb_Initialize routine to obtain a WinUSB handle for the device interface. For more info about these routines, see How to Access a USB Device by Using WinUSB Functions.

The following INF installs WinUSB as the OSR USB FX2 board's function driver on a x64-based system. The example shows INF with WDF coinstallers.

• USB_Install.CoInstallers: This section, which includes the referenced AddReg and CopyFiles sections, contains data and instructions to install the WinUSB and KMDF co-installers and associate them with the device. Most USB devices can use these sections and directives without modification.

• The x86-based and x64-based versions of Windows have separate co-installers.

  Note Each co-installer has free and checked versions. Use the free version to install WinUSB on free builds of Windows, including all retail versions. Use the checked version (with the '_chk' suffix) to install WinUSB on checked builds of Windows.

Each time Winusb.sys loads, it registers a device interface that has the device interface classes that are specified in the registry under the DeviceInterfaceGUIDs key.

Note If you use the redistributable WinUSB package for Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, make sure that you don't uninstall WinUSB in your uninstall packages. Other USB devices might be using WinUSB, so its binaries must remain in the shared folder.

How to create a driver package that installs Winusb.sys

To use WinUSB as the device's function driver, you create a driver package. The driver package must contain these files:

• WinUSB co-installer (Winusbcoinstaller.dll)
• KMDF co-installer (WdfcoinstallerXXX.dll)
• An .inf file that installs Winusb.sys as the device's function driver. For more information, see Writing an .Inf File for WinUSB Installation.
• A signed catalog file for the package. This file is required to install WinUSB on x64 versions of Windows starting with Vista.

Note Make sure that the driver package contents meet these requirements:

• The KMDF and WinUSB co-installer files must be obtained from the same version of the Windows Driver Kit (WDK).
• The co-installer files must be obtained from the latest version of the WDK, so that the driver supports all the latest Windows releases.
• The contents of the driver package must be digitally signed with a Winqual release signature. For more info about how to create and test signed catalog files, see Kernel-Mode Code Signing Walkthrough on the Windows Dev Center - Hardware site.

1. Download the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) and install it.

2. Create a driver package folder on the machine that the USB device is connected to. For example, c:UsbDevice.

3. Copy the WinUSB co-installer (WinusbcoinstallerX.dll) from the WinDDKBuildNumberredistwinusb folder to the driver package folder.

   The WinUSB co-installer (Winusbcoinstaller.dll) installs WinUSB on the target system, if necessary. The WDK includes three versions of the co-installer depending on the system architecture: x86-based, x64-based, and Itanium-based systems. They are all named WinusbcoinstallerX.dll and are located in the appropriate subdirectory in the WinDDKBuildNumberredistwinusb folder.

4. Copy the KMDF co-installer (WdfcoinstallerXXX.dll) from the WinDDKBuildNumberredistwdf folder to the driver package folder.

   The KMDF co-installer (WdfcoinstallerXXX.dll) installs the correct version of KMDF on the target system, if necessary. The version of WinUSB co-installer must match the KMDF co-installer because KMDF-based client drivers, such as Winusb.sys, require the corresponding version of the KMDF framework to be installed properly on the system. For example, Winusbcoinstaller2.dll requires KMDF version 1.9, which is installed by Wdfcoinstaller01009.dll. The x86 and x64 versions of WdfcoinstallerXXX.dll are included with the WDK under the WinDDKBuildNumberredistwdf folder. The following table shows the WinUSB co-installer and the associated KMDF co-installer to use on the target system.

   Use this table to determine the WinUSB co-installer and the associated KMDF co-installer.

   WinUSB co-installer	KMDF library version	KMDF co-installer
   Winusbcoinstaller.dll	Requires KMDF version 1.5 or later	Wdfcoinstaller01005.dll Wdfcoinstaller01007.dll Wdfcoinstaller01009.dll
   Winusbcoinstaller2.dll	Requires KMDF version 1.9 or later	Wdfcoinstaller01009.dll
   Winusbcoinstaller2.dll	Requires KMDF version 1.11 or later	WdfCoInstaller01011.dll

5. Write an .inf file that installs Winusb.sys as the function driver for the USB device.

6. Create a signed catalog file for the package. This file is required to install WinUSB on x64 versions of Windows.

7. Attach the USB device to your computer.

8. Open Device Manager to install the driver. Follow the instructions on the Update Driver Software wizard and choose manual installation. You will need to provide the location of the driver package folder to complete the installation.

Related topics

WinUSB Architecture and Modules
Choosing a driver model for developing a USB client driver
How to Access a USB Device by Using WinUSB Functions
WinUSB Power Management
WinUSB Functions for Pipe Policy Modification
WinUSB Functions
WinUSB